Forum Help

If you want to ask about changing your username, have login problems, have password problems or a technical issue please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com

Posting help:

If you want to ask why a word can't be typed, your signature's been changed, or a post has been deleted see the Forum Rules. If you don't find the answer you can ask forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com though due to volumes we can't guarantee replies.

Ive always kept child benefit seperate from our main bank account (because of bills, charges, things that may impact on it being available for the children) I have two young children (and some grown ones lol), one is diasabled and home educated. I have a post office card account for child benefit, I started it years ago when my two older ones were young and the old child benefit books stopped. I like it that way, i always know if they need new shoes, or clothes, or a payment for a trip etc, its there and I can go and get it out, no direct debits, or debit cards or anything can take money. But I keep getting letters from government offices saying I must change to bank...I keep putting it off, I really dont want to I spoke to post office and they say that there is no reason to change...but im really worried that if I dont they will stop payments. Does anyone know legal rights ? Thanks for any help/advice x

I do not want another bank account (I though id already said that before in the first post. I like my childrens money kept completely seperate, ive had enough of banks and their charges) I want to keep things the way they are, I live in a small village, my post office is nearby, there are no charges, there is no standing orders/ direct debits allowed. I know that money is there and I can get it out for the children at any time, I dont see why I should have to change anything at all. Thank-you for the one reply that at least told me I can at least keep it this way until 2021

I made a suggestion and for your information, the Yorkshire Building Society is not a bank, does not make charges, would enable you to keep the money separate as you could choose to have the benefit paid into it - it would also pay you a small amount of interest and would give you an ATM card which would permit you to draw out money as required!

I made a suggestion and for your information, the Yorkshire Building Society is not a bank, does not make charges, would enable you to keep the money separate as you could choose to have the benefit paid into it - it would also pay you a small amount of interest and would give you an ARM card which would permit you to draw out money as required!

I have a current account that does not charge as well as a basic bank account that does not make charges. I can also pay in and withdraw at post offices if i wanted to.
But how dare you suggest such a thing to the op, you should be ashamed

A new £250 million 7 year contract, which will protect a key service for vulnerable pensioners and benefit claimants as well as help safeguard the future of the Post Office network, has been agreed by the government.

DWP Minister Steve Webb has announced in Parliament today the signing of a new deal with Post Office Limited to ensure the Post Office Card Account remains available until at least November 2021. The service was previously due to be withdrawn in March 2015.

”

It's just an effort by the DWP who keep sending these letters, to make you think you have to change?

Sorry, I didnt mean to sound rude at all :/ I had trouble getting the one bank account I do have, I really would just rather keep things the way they are at the moment, and hopefully can at least do that for a few more years. Thank-you for the advice.

How this site works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.

Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first.

We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).

We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.

Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

MoneySavingExpert.com is part of the MoneySupermarket Group, but is entirely editorially independent. Its stance of putting consumers first is protected and enshrined in the legally-binding MSE Editorial Code.